400$ a month for enjoying Thailand is not enough. It will come out to be a survival training, without any extras

Fatfather

That is plenty of money. Ignore these other troll posts. They are blowing their funds on bargirls and expensive restaurants. A Thai(and most other people in developing countries)can live on 10,000 baht a month(which is probably the median wage) and be happy. So can you.

I do not know any Thais that live on 10,000 a moth but then I only know city people...

OP, leaving finances aside as members seem divided on whether you can or cannot live on $400-$600 a month.

If you don't want to end up in serious trouble which could include a fine, detention centre and deportation, then you really need to research the requirements for voluntary work in Thailand and whether you and the organisation can meet those requirements.

You will need a Non Imm O type Visa and a Work Permit regardless.

Even with a letter from the organisation, the Thai Embassy will only issue a single entry 90 day Non Imm O Visa. Subsequent Visas can be obtained from Bangkok Immigration (at their discretion) with a letter from your organisation. The maximum permitted stay in Thailand is 90 days without either getting a subsequent Visa or reporting to an Immigration office.

The Ministry of Labour may or may not issue a work permit depending on the type of voluntary work you plan to do.

Just how much will the organisation support your applications and who will cover the costs are questions you need to ask them.

Those costs may also include travel and accommodation that you didn't anticipate and they won't cover.

You can read more about the requirements here:

http://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/working-thailand.php

Thailand has zero opportunities professionally. This place is highly overrated. If I were you I would come for 2 weeks to visit and go right back home.

JB300 hit the nail on the head !

Don't spoil your trip by being short of funds or working illegally.

Delay your trip one year and like JB300 said, "build up your funds".

In that delay, research the heck out of Thailand. Half of what you read will be misleading or incorrect

but the other half will be valuable.

Stick with this forum and learn from there too. (just ignore the sour pusses who live in Thailand but have nothing much good to say about the people).

Again, apart from the cash: what makes you think that the Thais, or anyone else for that matter, need an unqualified volunteer. To paint fence posts? Dig crappers?

They are crying out for native English speakers to help the kids learn English just about everywhere especially ones who don't need 50k baht a month, aircon, 4g in. Nakhon nowhere.

Just being a native speaker does not a teacher make.....

Very true but it's good enough to be a volunteer teacher and much better than no native teacher which is the situation the school is in at the moment.

Again, apart from the cash: what makes you think that the Thais, or anyone else for that matter, need an unqualified volunteer. To paint fence posts? Dig crappers?

They are crying out for native English speakers to help the kids learn English just about everywhere especially ones who don't need 50k baht a month, aircon, 4g in. Nakhon nowhere.

Just being a native speaker does not a teacher make.....

Very true but it's good enough to be a volunteer teacher and much better than no native teacher which is the situation the school is in at the moment.

I can only speak for Siem Reap where there are plenty of volunteer teachers. They stay anywhere from 2 hours to 2 months, come with different accents, no curriculum, no plan, just the urge to help the poor brown people.

Must be pretty difficult for the kids to go through the "Hello, I am Jim (John, Susie, Alan, Sheila) from England (Australia, US, Sweden), How are you?" every few days/weeks.

That is plenty of money. Ignore these other troll posts. They are blowing their funds on bargirls and expensive restaurants. A Thai(and most other people in developing countries)can live on 10,000 baht a month(which is probably the median wage) and be happy. So can you.

Comparing the cost of living for a person LIVING somewhere, and the cost of being a tourist, are two very different things. I don't understand why so many people try to do this, especially giving this information to a newbie traveler, much less newbie in Thailand, is not helpful. It is deceiving to say the least.

Next, the wages of the local people really have nothing to do with the cost of travel either. In general, some of the poorest places on earth, are the MOST expensive places to visit. People who live on a $1 day, don't stay at hotels, so it doesn't make sense to try to conclude that maybe hotels only cost 25 cents a day in those places.

I think I don't need to detail the reasons why for both of these assertions??

another miss informed dreamer ...

working for free is going to cost you

specially without the needed WP

Again, apart from the cash: what makes you think that the Thais, or anyone else for that matter, need an unqualified volunteer. To paint fence posts? Dig crappers?

They are crying out for native English speakers to help the kids learn English just about everywhere especially ones who don't need 50k baht a month, aircon, 4g in. Nakhon nowhere.

Just being a native speaker does not a teacher make.....

Very true but it's good enough to be a volunteer teacher and much better than no native teacher which is the situation the school is in at the moment.

I can only speak for Siem Reap where there are plenty of volunteer teachers. They stay anywhere from 2 hours to 2 months, come with different accents, no curriculum, no plan, just the urge to help the poor brown people.

Must be pretty difficult for the kids to go through the "Hello, I am Jim (John, Susie, Alan, Sheila) from England (Australia, US, Sweden), How are you?" every few days/weeks.

Sounds like you are just speculating on what they teach as you may never have done it. More often than not the school already exists with local teachers and classes and have their own local English text book and programme. The native speaker steps in and uses this and the lessons are based around it. If not lots of resources on the internet. Repetition is important in learning a foreign language. No problem if the students have to say, how are you, what is your name , good afternoon...etc. How many times do you say Sawadee khrap, kop koon khrap( or whatever they say in Cambodia) when you are out and about during the day? Does it get you down because you say it every day? Having a teacher will always be better than having no teacher.

Thailand has zero opportunities professionally. This place is highly overrated. If I were you I would come for 2 weeks to visit and go right back home.

There are plenty of people, with the right qualifications, who are working here and doing well financially and career-wise. Don't confuse that with not a large demand for Westerners who offer no skills a Thai cannot do.

What is the volunteer position and are there more please?

"my original monthly budget of $800 is no longer realistic, I can only afford $400."

It is likely that if you had budgetary issues in your own country where you are much more familiar then you will have similar issues here. Thailand can be cheap, but at the same time there are some many things to do here that you can spend a lot of money quickly.

It's about 13000 baht per month or 430 a day. It is possible but incredibly low.

If all your food and accommodation is paid for you could do it. Find out what is the food, can you eat it ? Are drinks included you will spend 100 -200 a day possibly just on liquid non alcoholic refreshment. Is electricity/ air con included ? Are visa fees included, travel ?

Gyms in malls cost about 2000 b per month but they are small gyms in parks for 5/10/20 baht. In Chonburi anyway.

Nightclubs are out really, maybe once or twice a month, maybe some very cheap local ones, but good Thai ones or tourist ones are 300 baht a drink or you can get whisky by the bottle and buy mixers which is cheaper but tourist places the whisky starts at about 1500 but you could share with friends.

Chiang Mahi maybe a lot cheaper but I don't know personally.

And if you want a woman get a 25 or 30 plus rich bit or you will be broke very soon.

Make sure you have full medical insurance that covers everything and flights home if needed or you will be well and truly screwed if something happens, you can't afford a half decent private hospital.

"Are drinks included you will spend 100 -200 a day possibly just on liquid non alcoholic refreshment. Is electricity/ air con included ?" A liter of apple juice is only 62 baht, 1.5 liter of pepsi is about 29 baht and he can get 9 liters of bottled water for about 60 baht. It would be pretty easy for someone on a budget to get their non alcoholic beverage needs taken care of for a lot less than 100-200 baht a day.

Yes, 430 a day is plenty.

Drink water: 5 bottles a day at THB 10 each = THB 50

Eat rice: 5 helpings a day at THB 10 each = THB 50

Walk around: 10 hours a day at THB 0 per hour = THB 0

430 - 50 -50 = 330.

Looks me like you can walk around all day drinking water and eating rice for about THB100 a day. I think you should consider extending you trip another six months.

OP, NO.

No matter what your budget is you cannot do any work, unpaid or otherwise, without a Work Permit.

Your budget will not cover the 100k fine, 2 years in jail & 5 years ban from the Land of Smiles.

Wow. Lots more posts than I expected! Thanks everyone! I've decided to sell a few things and will be able to go for 4-5 months on $600-$800 a month depending on how much extra cash I get. I'll be sure to get a work permit and visa before I go. I'll write a follow up post on my experiences and budget in a few months.

"From January 1 of this year, Thailand's employers must pay all employees at least 300 baht (about $10) a day." So around 9'000 THB or 300$ a month. That's the minimum wage. While it is technically possible to live with that amount, you will certainly not enjoy your stay here. Better to save a little more than be sorry.

If you are already in contact with the organization you will volunteering, ask them about the necessary documentation for you to get a volunteer visa/extension. If you do not need to pay for accommodation and food, do not drink alcohol, and do not frequent bars and "costly" female companions you will be OK with $400/month. Do not rent or use scooters, that in case of an accident can be very costly and a very inconvenient problem. Use just minibuses or tuktuk for transportation. The gym and some tourist tours can be expensive. The best way to avoid that kind of expenses is to make local friends, and do what they do for entertainment and tours. Good luck.

See this post in the Pattaya forum which dates from 2012: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/526895-where-to-do-volunteer-work/#entry4987063

It might be of interest to you.